1999 Texas Prairies Conference
A Coastal Prairie Caravan!
FRIDAY October 29 and SATURDAY Oct 30
Our 1999 Annual Texas Prairies Conference will be a two-day caravan tour
of the Upper Coastal Prairies near Houston. Attend both days or Saturday only.
We suggest making it a family vacation and enjoying Houston¹s exciting tourist attractions.
Oct 28 Thursday evening - camping out at Brazos Bend State Park (southwest of Houston). If you would like to camp out at Brazos Bend State park on Thursday night, the general reservations number is 512-389-8900. The number for the park is 409-553-5101 (or 5102). There should not be any problem with getting a campsite for Thursday night, but forget Friday or Saturday!
Directions: 21901 FM 762, Needville, TX. The park may be reached by traveling due south from Houston on State Highway 288 to Rosharon, west on FM 1462, then north on FM 762.
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/brazos/brazos.htm#directions
Alternatively, stay in Alvin, TX on Thursday night to avoid Friday morning traffic.
To get to the park from Alvin, take Hwy 35 south to FM 1462, then north on FM 762.
DAY ONE
Oct 29 Friday morning - Brazos Ben: Check-in at the ³40-Acre Lake² parking lot at Brazos Bend State Park at 9:00 AM for a lecture & tour with Dennis Jones, Assistant Superintendent. Ask at Park HQ¹s when you check in.
Friday lunch Not included in registration fee; at a cafe at the George Ranch, a non-profit foundation with education programs about ranching and tours of historic ranch buildings/homes. Coupons for ³buy one, get one free² tours will be available. Weather permitting, there will be a prescribed burn of a 5-acre pocket prairie at Brazos
Bend. We are also working on an afternoon trip to a private ranch nearby.
Friday evening We suggest staying the night in Alvin to avoid Houston traffic on the way
to our Saturday venue at the Armand Bayou Nature Center.
Days Inn 110 E. Highway 6 Country Hearth 1588 S. Loop 35
1-800-359-7466 or 281-331-5227 1-888-325-7815 or 281-331-0335
$44/nightfor 1 person and $49/night for 2 persons $52/night for 1 person and $56/night for 2 persons
$5 off for AARP or AAA AARP or AAA rates $49/night for 1 or $54/night for 2 persons
REGISTRATION FORM
BEFORE Oct. 23: Saturday only - $15.00, Friday AND Saturday - $20.00 AFTER Oct 23: Add $5.00
Name(s): ______________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
Phone: __________________ e-mail: _____________________________
If you have any questions, contact Evelyn Merz at 713-644-8228 or elmerz@hal-pc.org
Make check payable to NPAT, and mail to:
NPAT at 3503 Lafayette Avenue, Austin,Tx 78722-1807
DAY TWO
Our Saturday morning program begins at Armand Bayou Nature Center
8500 Bay Area Boulevard in Clear Lake, which is south of Houston off of I-45 (Gulf Freeway).
Take the Bay Area Blvd. exit off I-45 South and go east for about 2 to 3 miles. You will pass the entrances of the University of Houston Clear Lake campus and a county park. The ABNC entrance is on the south side of of Bay
Area Blvd. not far beyond the county park. 281-474-2551
This portion of annual program sponsored by the Texas Section Society for Range Management ,
the "Water for Texans" team with the Extension Rangeland Ecology and Management Program unit at Texas A&M University,
and the Armand Bayou Nature Center staff.
Oct 30 Saturday morning 7:30 AM Registration or check-in at Armand Bayou Nature Center.
Coffee & doughnuts provided courtesy of Texas Chapter of Society for Range Management.
8:00 AM Welcome and Overview of ABNC Program Ephriam Dickson, Administrative Dir.
8:20 AM Clean Water for Armand Bayou Project
Colin Shackelford, Extension Assistant
8:50 AM Break
9:00 AM Reading Your Landscape and ABNC Prairie Tour
Stop 1 Landscaping with Native Plants
Colin Shackelford
Stop 2 Overview of ABNC Prairie Management Program
Dr. Larry White, 2nd Vice President TxSRM and Extension Range Specialist
Stop 3 Winter and Summer Prescribed Burning Program
Dr. Larry White and Dr. Barron Rector
Dr. Barron Rector, Extension Range Specialist and Colin Shackelford
Stop 5 Prairie Watershed Management Demonstration
Brian Hays and Brandon Leister, Extension Assistants-Water Conservation
Stop 4 Monitoring Prairie and Vegetation Change
Stop 6 Chinese Tallowtree Management
Mike Shively, Harris County Extension Agent-Agriculture
12:00 Noon Bar-B-Q Lunch (included in fee) and brief Annual Members¹ Meeting at ABNC Headquarters
At 1:00 PM depart for nearby University of Houston Coastal Center for final tour and field presentations, hosted by Dr. Glenn Aumann. The Coastal Center is an excellent example of a mature tallgrass coastal prairie.
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